Now that spring is here you need to open your pool for summer. Your children are asking when they can swim in the pool again so you know it’s time to remove the cover and let the fun begin. But what will you find when you pull back the cover? Time to work through your how to open your pool for summer checklist.
The procedure for opening a pool depends on where you live and the degree of winterization implemented when you closed the pool.
Those who live in a tropical climate are lucky and have nothing to do as the pool remains open all year. Pool owners in a sub-tropical area usually keep the pool open and the pump operating throughout the winter so preparing the pool for summer is easy.
Pools located in cooler temperate or snow-belt climates require an opening procedure to bring the pool out of hibernation and ready it for swimming.
Table of Contents
When to Open Your Pool for Summer
The middle of spring is the most popular time of the year to open a pool and prepare it for the summer. I believe the sooner you can remove the cover, the sooner you can revive your pool back to its best.
If you live in a very cold area, you may want to delay the opening until you are sure the weather has warmed sufficiently to prevent frost damage to the pool filtration system.
How to Open Your Pool for Summer
Normally it only takes one day to open your pool, clean it and re-balance the water chemistry so that it’s ready for swimming.
Remove the Pool Cover
If you covered your pool clean the debris off the cover and carefully remove it.
Next clean the pool cover. Most covers will only need a quick wash with soapy, warm water and a rinse off with the hose. Leave it out to dry before carefully folding it up and storing it for next season. The best way to store it is in a sealed storage bag or plastic box container to prevent it from deteriorating. You paid good money for it so make sure it going to last many seasons.
Assessment of Pool Water
Ok, what’s the verdict?
Does the pool water look ok or is it a dark green swamp?
If the water is really bad and medium to dark green it is probably better at this stage to drain the pool water completely and start again. You would need to acid wash the pool surfaces and flush the pipes before refilling the pool with fresh water.
If the pool water is only pale green or better then keep the water and proceed with the pool opening procedure.
Clean the Pool Surface
Depending on how the pool looks you may need to skim the pool surface with a net to remove any leaves and debris that would otherwise clog up the filter system.
Re-install Pool Accessories
If you removed pool accessories such as ladders, diving board, hand rail, etc. you can install them now.
Add Water to the Pool
There is usually a small degree of water evaporation through the winter even when there is a cover over the pool so you water level may be lower than when you winterized the pool.
Fill the water, from your town water supply, to the midway point on the skimmer box flap.
Some people have rainwater tank that can be used to partially fill the pool. Just make sure the water is clean and not contaminated before emptying the tank into your pool.
Remove Winter Plugs from Equipment and Pool Plumbing
Check all your equipment and pool plumbing for cracks or other damage from the winter conditions. Check all plumbing connections, gaskets and O-rings to make sure they have not become brittle or damaged in any way.
Remove the winter plugs that were installed to protect the piping and equipment from ice and frost.
Many people store the filter drain plugs in the pump basket for safe keeping. Re-install all drain plugs and valve fittings to your filtration equipment, heater, chlorinator and pump.
Re-install the salt water chlorinator if you had removed it for storage.
If you removed the filter cartridge install it now. This is a good time to purchase a new one if the existing cartridge is getting old and worn. Filter cartridges tend to silt-up, become more difficult to clean and don’t filter as well when they are old. Also if the filter cartridge is old you will notice the filter pressure gauge is still relatively high even after cleaning the cartridge. A lower pressure indicates water is more freely flowing through the filtration system and provides a stronger water flow from the egress outlet jets into the pool. This is important to make sure your pool water is adequately circulated to keep the pool chlorinated and effectively cleaned.
Fire up the Pump
Check all the valves are in the correct position. If you have a multiport system you should start with the valve turned to the waste position so that any debris in the plumbing will be flushed away to the drain. If you added anti-freeze to the pipes this will be flushed out into the drain and not back into your pool.
Prime your pump with water by filling the pump basket and filter with enough water to give continuous flow when you activate the pump motor. You probably will have air and bubbles in the system for the first few minutes until the pump can suck enough water from the pool through the entire system.
Turn on the mains power to your pump and chlorinator. Switch on the pump and run it for a few hours.
Test the Pool Water
Dust off the test kit and test the water. If your pool water is out of balance the process you need to follow is to correct each item in the following order.
- Total alkalinity (80 to 150 ppm)
- pH (7.4 to 7.8)
- Calcium hardness (200 to 250 ppm)
- Metals in the water
- Chlorine (2.0 to 4.0 ppm)
- Cyanuric acid stabiliser (30 to 70 ppm)
- Salt (if a salt water pool) (4000 to 7000 ppm)
Check out our detailed articles on how to manage each of the above chemical balances in your pool. There is also a full guide on pool chemistry if you love the subject and want to learn more.
Remember to only adjust small quantities at a time otherwise you may add too many chemicals and over balance the water. If this happens you will need additional chemicals to drive the chemistry back the other way. Always run the pump when adding chemicals to circulate the water and thoroughly mix in the chemicals.
Once you have your pool chemistry balanced move on to the next step.
Clean the Pool Surfaces
Brush the walls in a downward motion to move and dirt or build up to the bottom of the pool. Now manually vacuum the pool to waste to remove all dirt and debris. Don’t forget to turn the valve back to the filter position afterwards. You don’t want to lose more water down the drain. If the pool water level has dropped too much then add some more with the hose.
Shock the Pool
The first shock should be a double shock to ensure that all algae spores are killed and the pool plumbing pipes are well chlorinated as well as the pool water. This is designed to take the chlorine level to at least 4.0 ppm so that the salt water chlorinator can maintain that level.
Follow the manufacturer’s instructions on the package. Pour the shock into the pool above the water jets with the pump running to fully mix and circulate the shock chemical.
Take the usual safety precautions with gloves, eye protection and adequate clothing. Never add chemicals to the pool when it’s windy as they will blow all over you.
Set the Pump Timer
Set up the pump timer to run for the usual times recommended for your pool. Run the pump.
Read our article on How to Sound Proof Your Pool Pump
Add Algaecide to Open the Pool for Summer
An optional step is to add algaecide. Usually this is only necessary if you have had algae problems in the past. If you live in a region where there is a lot of rainfall in the spring and summer maybe algaecide is a good idea to protect your pool against and algae bloom caused by excessive rain falling in the pool.
Otherwise, at this stage if the pool water is clear and clean skip this step.
Run the Pump & Filter
Let the timer and pump do their work as usual.
Please follow your normal pool maintenance and testing routine that was designed for your type of pool. Now your pool will be ready for swimmers tomorrow.
Enjoy the Summer!
Conclusion
How to open your pool for summer might seem like a real chore but you only open your pool once a year.
If you followed our recommended closing process to winterize your pool then opening should be a trouble-free process.
Please work through our checklist to make sure you complete all the necessary tasks. This guarantees your pool is ready for your family to enjoy.
Read our article on How to Close Your Pool for Winter